What’s it going to take to ground Minim? Typically a structural engineer would design the size of footings, and test borings would be drilled to ensure that the footings are on solid ground. But because Minim is so small, and doesn’t weigh very much, we are going to take a simpler approach. We’ll assume a 2000 lb bearing capacity (which is very low), and set the house on poured spread footings that are three feet wide and one foot deep. Chad will draw a foundation plan and check it quickly with a structural engineer. Once the contractor has started digging, if we find unexpected conditions on site, we can always pour a little more concrete. We think this will prove to be more cost effective. Test borings could cost around $1000. Better to save that money for extra concrete if should we need it!

Now that we have our survey, we’re going to finalize adjustments to the floor plan. The original Minim is twenty-two and a half feet long by eleven feet wide. We’re going to stretch ours a little bit (to maximize the space we have on our site) to a HUMONGOUS twenty-eight foot long by twelve feet wide. Our total square footage will be 336 square feet versus the 247.5 square feet of the original.

You might remember that we chose Scheme A -1 for our site plan. Here it is again …

And here is the original Minim plan.

We’re going to be making some changes to the original plan for a number of reasons. First, the increased size and the orientation of the house on the site will require some changes. And second, we heard some requests at our brainstorming sessions which we are going to heed. Changes will include:

• a deck
• french doors leading out onto the deck
• a window on the office platform, facing the street
• a pantry next to the kitchen, for added storage
• a washer/dryer
• a full range instead of a recreational vehicle model
• a separate shower in the bathroom
• a through the wall mini-split heating and cooling system

The presenters, which included Mark Fairclaugh of the 6% Place advisory committee, Jesse Rommelt of the BUNKERproject, Michael Stanton of Open Hand Ministries, and Jason Sauer of Most Wanted Fine Art, had their presentations and stories recorded by visual note-taker Stephanie Bercht.

What’s that item in the back of this month’s Bloomfield-Garfield Bulletin?
Aha!
Please come to our first workshop for Lessons from the 6% Place on April 25th, 2013 at 6:30 PM at Assemble Gallery in Garfield. Read more about our first session, “Freelancing and the Law,” and our series right here.

Have you heard the news? cityLAB and the 6% Place Advisory Committee are organizing a night market in Garfield to begin this summer and we are looking for vendors, volunteers, performers, and sponsors.

Read the article from the April issue of the Bloomfield-Garfield Bulletin below and then sign up here if you’re interested in being a part of the Night Market.

While cityLAB finishes up door-to-door surveying for the Garfield Creative Census, we’ll keep the online survey open so more people can take it — and be a part of the Freelancers Database too! Take the census (now closed) today!

cityLAB is pleased to announce the Garfield Creative Census, which will provide a baseline for counting creative workers, dabblers, and hobbyists in the 6% Place and beyond.

Take the Garfield Creative Census (now closed) and opt in to join the Garfield Freelancers Database, which will provide a new way for clients and customers to find local creative businesses. The survey will be open until November 15th.

On September 20th, the 6% Place Advisory Committee visited a group of artists are who worried they will lose the space they have been working in along Penn Avenue. The advisory committee toured their studio, talked, listened, and offered some strategies for staying put in the future.

Next door there is a company converting engines to run on bio-diesel. All in a days’ work in Garfield.

The 6% Place is “an innovative path to socially compassionate community change” says Rob Stephany, director of the Heinz Endowments’ community and economic development program. “We want to see vibrant neighborhoods with strong market forces at work and to make sure that low-income people clearly benefit from that vibrancy.”